Phoenix Rising
by hawkstar2
Summary: Set following the events of Maximum Ride Forever, Max and Fang and the rest of the Flock do their best to raise a mutant bird-child in a post-apocalyptic world where uncertainty lies around every corner. See the rising of the Phoenix. T for possible language?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: And so it goes. It's been years since I sat at the keyboard and typed for something that I wanted to do. An update, if any of you reading have read any of my fics before: I graduated with my Associate's Degree in Library Technical Assisting, I followed that up with my Bachelor's of General Studies. I'm working at my library's Tech Services Department receiving materials and programming barcodes. I've married my high-school sweetheart and we live in a comfortable 2 bedroom apartment with our 2 cats. I've been wanting to write for years. I have ideas scratched out on a notepad I keep by my bed, but honestly have been almost afraid to type again. I'm hoping that this story goes over well and I haven't lost my ability to write like I used to. Sorry this is forever long, but I felt like I owed an explanation for the lapse in stories. We'll see how this goes!**

 **Disclaimer: I'm not James Patterson**

Max POV

"MOOOOOOOOOOM!"

"Your daughter's awake." Fang grumbled next to me.

"I could totally pull a Lion King and quote Mufasa and say before the sun rises she's your daughter." He shot me a glare that said get-your-butt-out-of-bed-and-get-Phoenix-but-I-love-you-for-your-groggy-morning-humor, and rolled over and pulled the covers back over his head.

I rolled out of bed in the humid Peru morning air and shuffled to the other room where Phoenix was already sitting up and playing quietly with her stuffed animals. A pang of memory hits me when I correlate this exact scene with one from nearly six years earlier of my baby Angel lying in a bed packed to the brim with stuffed animal friends. Phoenix of course picked up on this immediately.

"Morning Momma, why are you sad?"

"Never! I'm never sad when I get to see your beautiful face! I'll still never understand how you became such a morning-girl compared to your daddy and I, but here we are!"

Phoenix chuckled and leaped into my arms. "Is Angel coming over to play again today?"

"I can't think of her having much else to do today, so probably."

"And we can fly and swim and dance!?" Phoenix's entire little body quivered with uncontrollable excitement.

"That's the plan!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

The world has begun its healing process, resilient and strong as before, but it's been less than a decade, and nothing in nature can recover that quickly. We've been fortunate enough to salvage some plants and begin our own little self-sustaining garden of sorts. In the beginning it was just us and a handful of stragglers. Over the last few months though, Iggy and Gazzy have set smoke signals miles away from our shores, in an attempt to attract more lifeforms that may be of use to us, as well as in need of refuge we could provide. The trek from Russia to here was not an easy one, but we made it.

As for Phoenix, she is of course loved by all. Her fair olive skin was so pale coming out of the caves she called home for the first five years of her life that I was afraid she would burn to a crisp in the Southern Hemisphere's relentless sun. But, true to her DNA, she glows with a gorgeous tan. She's a spitting image of her father: blackish purple wings and dark hair. The one main thing she got from me is the attitude, unfortunately, and my brown eyes the color of un-barfed up chocolate. It's still unclear if she has inherited any of our….abilities. She's never been tested on, but we have. So the question is still there as to whether or not things like that can be passed down from parent to child. That's one of the primary purposes behind Angel and Phoenix's flight time together. Angel's attuned to these sorts of things, so we're hoping that by interacting with her in various settings and activities that we'll get our answer someday.

To be honest there's a lot that we don't know. We had the advantage of having our Flock before, so we knew how to survive, how to grow together. But this starting from scratch thing with a baby? It's challenging. Our morning routine was pretty much this: mock-argue over who got to get out of bed first and get Phoenix, dress the little booger, and make our way to the food prep area and begin making breakfast. We'll attempt some kind of schooling I'm sure, when the time is right that is. Between the Flock and the group of friends we have now we could probably close to cover all bases.

For now we are taking it a day at a time, doing our best and living primarily off of a fruit, veggie, and sea life diet. Today should be a normal day, probably a bunker day in which the boys go off in search of underground bunkers that may be teeming with leftover supplies (thank you doomsday preppers and the government!), Angel and Total and Phoenix will spend the day on the beach, while Nudge and I play harvesters and monitor our growing food preserve.

At least, I had hoped it would be a normal day, until Angel appeared at the door and screamed, "PHOENIX NO!"

And that's when I turned to see Phoenix unsuspectingly reaching right for the flaming grill for her piece of breakfast.

To be continued…

 **A/N: It's late now, so I'll wrap it up here, let me know what you guys think: should I continue or try something else? Writing a story after the world has ended is an interesting task lol.**

 **~hawkstar2**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm glad you guys liked it! I'll do my best to build off of what has been started and make it flow as smoothly as possible!**

 **Disclaimer: I'm not James Patterson; but I did get to meet him and now own 3 signed books**

Phoenix POV

Life's pretty funny when you think about it. You spend so much time in the dark, wandering around with your family and listening to stories of a great blue world full of sunshine, animals, clean, fresh air, and a soft, squishy floor that doesn't hurt so badly when you fall on it like this rock does. Momma would be really mad when she spread out her wings and tried to fly, the ceiling stopped her from getting very high. Sometimes she forgets and tries to fly anyways.

But then one day the world got bigger. One day Auntie Angel said that we were safe to leave and that I'd be able to finally see the outside. We were scared at first because we didn't know what we would see. Momma said that they lived underground for years. The underground was all I'd ever known.

We weren't all allowed to leave at first. At first only Momma, Dad, and a couple others were allowed to investigate what they called "The New World". But when we went outside, I didn't believe the stories. I didn't realize that the colors in my crayon box were all in the outside too. There was a lot of stuff that was dead or just starting to grow again, but Momma and everyone says that there are ways to make stuff grow better and faster too. It's going to take a long time I think.

But Momma says we have to take each day as it comes, and today, I'm learning to fly. Auntie Angel will be here soon, and Momma's taking so long with breakfast I'm afraid I'll be eating when she gets here and I won't be able to spend as much time flying on the beach with her.

"Momma? When's breakfast done? I'm hungry nooooooowwwww."

Momma didn't even look at the stove before she said, "It'll be a minute." How could she know? She didn't even look. I'm hungry and Auntie Angel will be here soon, maybe if I take my veggies out to show her I can eat them now.

Max POV

You always hear about parents telling their children, "One of these days you'll have a child like you and I'll laugh!" or "Karma will be here before you know it." or "Wait til you have a daughter"…

Well. I didn't.

I wish I had.

I never figured I'd be a mother. I never really truly thought that there would be anything more than the Flock and I. When I had Phoenix, my world did a complete 180. Things I thought were important before were miniscule on the list of important things for that day. We stuck together and had each other's backs before, but now, we were inseparable. All because of this small, miraculous, screaming and pooping bundle of life. Everything about her was new and incredible. None of us had ever _really_ raised a baby from day one, so there was quite a bit of trial and error.

Being a mother changes something in you. Like, I thought I was protective before, thought that I was the big-bad-mother-bear-who-will-rip-your-face-off-without-a-second-thought-so-just-try-me. And I delivered, there was no threat I wouldn't make true to if need be. And I think that this experience really helped in the aspect of becoming an actual mother.

So naturally when I turned to see my daughter, the love of my life, the daredevil incarnate, plunging her hand into the grill for her piece of breakfast, well, I lost my marbles.

"PHOENIX NO!" Angel shrieked, scaring me out of my skin.

Phoenix jumped in alarm and in the commotion knocked over the entire kitchen ensemble, soup spilled over the bamboo floor, making everything slick and chunks of fish and vegetables floated away.

But none of this mattered as I sprinted to grab Phoenix and rush her out of the house to inspect her arm in the daylight. Angel and Fang materialized behind me as I frantically tried to keep myself calm and turn over her arm again and again and…again?

"Max, Max, MAX! Calm down, come here Fee, let Daddy see." Fang's inky calm voice brought my scattered mind back down to earth.

She didn't have a mark on her, not a single singeing mark, just a fine outline of ash on the tips of her fingers.

"Fee, does this hurt?" Fang pressed slightly on her fingertips, palm, and wrist, all the while Phoenix is crying softly and shaking her head no.

"Phoenix baby why did you put your hand on the grill? You know you're not supposed to touch hot things." Angel cooed softly.

Phoenix shrugged. "I thought *hic* it was *hic* done. It doesn't hurt Momma, it doesn't ever hurt."

Fang's eyes flashed between our daughter and me, calculating what to say next without overreacting.

So naturally I spoke up first. "What do you mean it doesn't ever hurt baby?"

"It's not hot. You and Daddy always blow my soup, but it's not hot, my baths don't feel hot, and campfires don't make me hot." Phoenix said matter-of-factly.

Well. I guess we have our answer to the 5-year long question of if our little miracle baby had any of our "abilities".

"We still have to be careful around Mommy's cooking though, okay sweetie?" Fang smiled.

I had no better comeback than to glare.

 **A/N: Is it super weird reading Momma and Daddy and picturing Max and Fang? Because let me tell you it was super weird writing it lol**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you all for all the wonderful reviews and faves and alerts! Going as long as I did without writing and coming back to the love is truly fantastic and I hope I can continue writing things you guys want to read! Sorry it's been a while since my last upload, we put nearly 1,000 miles on the cars over the holidays, it's been nuts! Anyways, as always enjoy and let me know what you think!**

 **Disclaimer: I'm not James Patterson and this is fan-based.**

Fang POV

All our lives Max was our "stand-in parent". No matter how many times I told her that the kids didn't need her to be their mom, that she wasn't their mom, that we understood that she was just a kid too and that the weight of the world didn't linger solely on her shoulders (which I guess in hindsight wasn't entirely the truth, but hey we were like 14 cut us a break).

I never expected to live long enough to become a father. Honestly it's still amazing to realize that this little girl, this child full of curiosity with my wings and hair and the deep, caring eyes of her mother, my Max, it all still takes me aback. I never expected to fall in love so deeply that something so amazing came as a result. This little girl is our entire world. Through all the trauma, trials and tribulations, not to mention the legitimate end of the world, Phoenix is our hope. All of those years of Max caring for us trained her to control her emotions—usually—and prepared her for the physical and emotional craziness that is parenthood.

We waited patiently for Phoenix to begin to display any of her own abilities. Angel monitored her and spent ample amounts of time with her with the expectation to pick up on something, but the fire never crossed her mind. It now begs the question of how these abilities are bestowed upon us.

We'd always simply assumed that they were by-products of the first decade of our lives being scientifically tested on and having our DNA manipulated time after time. Now with Fee though it may not be the case. Phoenix has never even seen a whitecoat, yet her she stands in front of me without a single singed hair on her olive wrist after plunging her hand into the literal fire only moments ago.

"Well this will be an interesting conversation-starter for Gasman and Iggy." Max mumbled begrudgingly.

"Should they be privy to this information? I mean, let's be real here, Gasman and Iggy have someone that's flame-intolerant and they're going to recruit her to light all their explosives and handle the chemical compounds that they need gloves and a set of tongs to be close to." Angel commented.

Thoughtful silence…

"Well we can't exactly keep it from them, especially if she decides to pull her food off the grill in front of everyone at some point!" Max was beginning to get frantic.

"It's fine, we'll just explain it to them and then say if we ever see or hear of her with an explosive in her hand that we'll personally see to it that they never come in contact with another chemical explosive in their lives." Nudge said casually.

"Hi Auntie Nudge!"

"HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN STANDING THERE!?" Max screamed.

"I was right behind Angel when she screamed at Fifi for reaching into the fire. Honestly I'm kind of surprised you guys haven't caught on yet, I mean I noticed months ago while we were playing on the beach that the hot sand that made my toes burn didn't faze her at all, in fact, she decided to plop down and build herself a nice little sandcastle. When I asked her if it was hot she asked me what I was talking about. I figured you knew already that's why I never mentioned it before…" Nudge explained, somehow managing to say that in a single breath.

Angel gawked and Max took a deep breath, Phoenix was examining my wings with hers extended next to mine.

"I HAVE BEEN MONITORING HER FOR YEARS IN SEARCH OF ANY SIGNS OF ABILIITIES AND YOU JUST HAPPEN TO NOTICE AT THE BEACH!?" Angel was near-nuclear frustration.

"Okay, its fine, Angel, take a breath, Nudge, you too. We're fine, we're safe, and we're going to continue to build and reclaim this world." I had to raise my voice over Angel's frustrated growling noises and Fee's laughing.

But here's the thing about our lives: apocalypse or not, never assume that you're safe. We're always on guard. Always on watch. Always anticipating the next attack.

Phoenix turned and began to push me upwards from my crouching position. "Let's go fly Daddy."

And how was I supposed to turn down a request like that?

Max POV

"Well at least take this with you!" I ran back to the kitchen and tossed some fruit at Fang who caught it with ease, nodding and reaching down to place his hand on Phoenix's little dark haired mess. So the plan for today would be a little different than usual, Phoenix wanted to fly with her dad, so things can be adjusted. Watching the two of them walk away from behind was like watching two versions of the same person, one older and one younger. From this angle Phoenix looked just as Fang did when we first started playing together. Silent and studious, they made their way towards the warm beach.

I turned and focused my gaze on Nudge and Angel, both still in a quiet argument full of snarky glares and eyebrow raises and shoulder shrugs.

"Well, Angel do you want to hang out with Nudge and I as we go about our harvesting and clothing-making ways?"

"That whole sentence is something I never thought I'd here you say in a million years." Angel giggled.

So we returned to the hut and cleaned up the spilled soup from Phoenix's accidental spill, killed the flames on the fire, and sorted through the fruits and veggies to weed out the ones about to spoil from the reserve.

"We can go check the cotton fibers we planted a while back and see how those are maturing, though it'd also be nice to see what Gazzy and Iggy bring back from any bunkers they find today." Nudge suggested.

"What about the submarines?" Angel asked innocently.

"What do you mean the submarines?" I asked nervously.

"You know, the submarines from people before, or the underwater bases from before. The ones in the Pacific can't have been the only ones. I betcha other oceans have some sort of underwater bases."

"Yeah, but after four years of a nuclear winter across 95% of the surface of the globe, I highly doubt anyone would be alive in those things and I really don't want to walk into a makeshift underwater morgue."

"I'll ask the whales."

What a strange life we live.

Fang POV

Phoenix and I spent the entire day flying above the ocean, making sandcastles, and splashing in some of the cleaner water left on this planet.

Gazzy and Iggy returned later in the evening hoisting a tarp full of various supplies between the two of them. Apparently they had visited Mexico City and investigated some of the scientific laboratories that apparently had underground storage areas full of more medical supplies, some instant food, and scrubs which Nudge would sew to make bedding and clothing out of.

We had an unconventional dinner compared to regular standards, sat around a beach fire while Phoenix showed off her now very public ability, granting Gasman and Iggy death-glares from Max, and finally retired to our homes.

Phoenix was wore-out from the flying and playing all day in addition to the late-night fire montage. So Max and I sat up in bed and discussed future tactics, well out of earshot of our daughter.

You could always tell when Max's anxiety was starting to get the better of her. Instead of leaning against the headboard and breathing normally, she inclined slightly, ran her hands repeatedly through her hair, and drew in shaky breaths.

"Angel mentioned the submarines and underwater bases. There's no way those can be a thing still, right? I mean, for the people to survive that long, but then again we're still finding bunkers. And we don't know where all the apocalypse impacted. For all we know there could be a part of Iceland that is housing a bunch of assholes that are going to descend upon us and take everything from us. What if someone found out about Phoenix and what she can do? The areas of embers and nuclear waste still smoldering would be no problem for her."

I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and pulled her into my chest, pretending I didn't hear her silent sobs as she drew in shakier breaths than the last.

Kissing her head and squeezing her tighter I whispered, "Nothing is coming here. Nothing is going to destroy us again. Nothing is coming between this family and each other. No one is going to lay a hand on our Phoenix. Max, look at me, this is our life now. This is our world. This is where we thrive, not the 99 Percenters, not Jeb Batchelder, not the Horsemen or the Doomsday group. This is ours."

She drew in a deep breath and leaned harder into me, easing herself right where she belonged in the groove of my shoulder and side. I guided the two of us down into the mattress and fell asleep with Max's face buried in the crook of my neck and her hand across my chest.

 **A/N: We'll end with some fluff 3**

 **~hawkstar2**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So if it isn't already obvious, I can't keep a schedule to save my life. Since my last update there's been some pretty major life changes: I started my Master's degree, had a beautiful baby girl last September who is about to turn 1, bought a house, and am still juggling 3 jobs like a boss and trying to find time to game and hang out with my husband and friends. I read audiobooks now lol. The continued notifications of people STILL favoriting, commenting, and setting follows on my stories warms my heart more than you internet folks will ever know. Hopefully this doesn't disappoint**

 **Disclaimer: I'm not James Patterson, though I did meet him once and had a panic attack afterwards.**

Fang POV:

The thing about saying things like this to Max is that the majority of the time I only halfway believe myself, the other half is hoping to whatever God there is up there that I'm not going to let her down, and ultimately curse us all in the process.

Which is exactly why in the dead middle of the night I woke Angel and we flew to the coast of Ecuador to go talk to some fish. Yes, you heard me correctly. There is a current that flows between the Hawaiian coast and Ecuador, along the equator. Angel says that if there is a chance that anyone has seen anything, they'll be along that current. And with the moon sitting high in the sky, it's high tide, meaning that there will be even more passengers on the current than at low tide.

I stand on the beach, heart hammering against my ribcage as I watch Angel glide over the top of the waves and seek out the perfect dive point. Suddenly, she drops out of the air like a rock, wings pressed back, barely making a disturbance on the water. I'm not necessarily worried about the amount of time that she spends beneath the surface, but it would be ideal if it could happen a little quicker.

What seems like hours later, Angel finally returns to the beach which I have taken to pacing and making ruts to report her findings, her face not grim, but not beaming with happiness either.

"So?"  
"Well, I spoke with some travelers and got some mixed feelings. There weren't a lot of bottom-dwellers, who will obviously know best what is going on. The basking folks who hang out nearer to the surface say they haven't _seen or felt_ anything, but that's not to say that there isn't still something there that hasn't resurfaced yet. I asked if there were any kind squids or other sea dwellers willing to go to the depths that we would need to find out if the bases are still occupied. Now, these are just the bases we know about, which is what one of the travelers said that kinda concerned me. What if there is something in what was the Gulf of Mexico, or by South Africa, or"

I cut her off before she can continue. I've already considered all this, but without a plane to get there in a timely manner, we're talking months of travel and being apart from Max and Phoenix, to either find nothing, or give away that we are still alive.

"Have you mentioned any of this to Max?"

Angel shrugs, "I mean, yeah, I told her I would ask the whales."

Of course. "So she knows that you have your suspicions."

"I'm going to say that's a yes."

"Angel. Do we need to go to the other coasts? If it's at all a concern."

"Fang. It's never going to not be a concern. It's always going to be in the back of our minds, even when we're old…er, older. We can never outrun the fear."

"You know, when you were little and super smart it was weird, now it's just annoying." I ruffle her short, wet hair and we launch ourselves back south towards home. Hopefully we'll get back before dawn.

Angel POV

It's hard to find Fang when we're flying in the dead of night. He kind of blends in to absolutely everything.

I didn't tell him the whole truth. I think we need to ask about the other oceans. I think we need to be concerned with other bunkers like what we survived in in Russia.

But I can't say things like that to him at 4 in the morning on a desolate beach in the middle of nowhere. Now that he has something to live for, he'll do anything to find out the truth. I can't let him decide to do this on his own. Max still gets annoyed when I use "the Voice", but it may be the only safe way for us to communicate and for me to not let her jump into action like a total spaz too.

You might be thinking, "yeah, there may be survivors, but how many could _really_ be evil scientists?"

Well, dear naïve person, how would a general civilian survive a military grade nuclear explosion?

That's why what we're concerned of is the evil scientist.

But without combing the entirety of the globe, above and below, how would we ever know? So we have to convince each other as well as ourselves that it is fine.

Somewhere in Greenland…

The vault door opens and The Director steps out, frail and shaking, supported by a subordinate.

"So this is it. This is the world now. What a bunch of morons. If you're going to control something, you don't destroy it too."

"Yes, ma'am."

"If we're going to do something, I suppose now is the best time to do it. No one has returned my broadcasts, code, falcons, Morse or anything, so it is my understanding now that I am the alpha, I am the one to rebuild this chasm that those degenerates imploded. I haven't got much time left, the Galapagos DNA that's allowed me to live to 118 has done it's duty, if I am to make any sort of difference we need other survivors. We need mutants."

 **A/N: Well, it's time to put my daughter to bed, so I will try to resume this in a fairly timely manner. Not gonna lie, I searched my mind for a while and utilized a bit of wikia to land on The Director, the lovely, lying, Itex psychopath from book 3. For all we know, she was aware of the impending destruction, and if anyone is good at planning after 100 years of life, it would be Marian Janssen.**


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